I recently accepted a friend's invitation to go through 12 weeks of journal-writing and creativity exercises together using the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I'm three weeks into this intriguing process and in the third chapter Cameron discusses the idea of synchronicity, "We like to pretend it is hard to follow our heart's dreams. The truth is, it is difficult to avoid walking through the many doors that will open. Turn aside your dream and it will come back to you again. Get willing to follow it again and a second mysterious door will swing open."
I know I'm not alone when I say that this is an incredibly busy time of year. I've been busy with the usual holiday preparations but also very busy making new art and accepting new art opportunities when they arrive.
This week the Diva gave us all a second chance to try out the ideas of Reticula and Fragments. There's that door swinging open again, and this time I'm saying yes.
Diva Challenges #294 and #295
reticula and fragments
for diva challenge #294
reticula and fragments in offset grid
for diva challenge #295
I've been wishing for more chances to connect in person with other artists and hopefully meet mentors for my art learning journey. An internet search for local art classes a few months back helped me discover the nearby artEAST art center. They have a variety of classes just as I was hoping to find, but they also have opportunities for sharing studio time with other local artists. Yes!
I've already posted about the wonderful evening workshop on printmaking I took last month but I also enrolled in a colored pencil realism class that meets once a week. The class size is so small that everyone gets one-on-one time to be mentored by the instructor.
Realism takes a lot of time but I have some work in progress to show. I like how you can see the various stages and layers that each petal will go through from just the wispy beginning of an outline to fully saturated with color.
purple hydrangeas, work in progress: colored pencil
tulips, work in progress: colored pencil
I have been wanting some guidance in getting better at drawing people and places. Craftsy, a resource for online crafting and art classes, has been offering a ton of holiday specials lately. I snatched up a few drawing classes on urban sketching and capturing likenesses. Here's some of my "homework" (click the thumbnails to see a larger version).
I've been dreaming, and I've been practicing, and synchronicity has been bringing me opportunities to practice and dream some more. What are you saying yes to?
It's been a while since my last post. One thing or another took my focus this past few weeks. Today I learned some terrible news that a beautiful soul lost the battle with depression and took their own life. Seb Barnett was an incredible artist who inspired me and encouraged me. I wish I'd known you better when I had the chance. The world is less bright without you in it.
I remember that Seb often railed against the idea of artistic "talent" as something you either had or you didn't. Instead Seb championed the notion that accomplished artists were the ones who put years and years of work into honing their craft.
So here I am, back at it with blogging my progress, still at the beginning of my journey, trying to follow your lead and put the work in.
Diva Challenge #287
I started with a watercolor background, created the design using Staedtler fineliner pens, and then I deepened the color shading with Neocolor II watersoluble crayons and Prismacolor colored pencils. I learned a valuable lesson about the way that finely sharpened colored pencils can sometimes scratch through the softer, more fibrous watercolor paper I was using for this piece. You might notice that one of the abstract orb shapes looks a bit more like a pearl than the others. That one got a bit of Liquid Pearls paint to cover the damaged paper.
Windsor & Newton watercolor in Transparent Yellow and Quinacridone Magenta
Work in progress, after inking the design I added shading with watersoluble crayon and colored pencil
Diva Challenge #287 on watercolor tile Dreamcatcher, Nebel, Yincut, and Sandswirl
Daniel Lamothe's Dreamcatcher pattern is quite stunning all on it's own. Here I let it take center stage with a mandala-like circular symmetry. I used a Uniball Signo white ink pen and a white chalk pastel pencil on coal black Strathmore sketch paper. I was inspired to try my hand at the convergent shading technique shared by Lynn Mead.
Tomorrow my family is heading out of town for a five-day excursion down to Portland, Oregon to gather with a few hundred other homeschoolers. This annual trip is a highlight of our year and a chance to reunite with far-flung friends and an opportunity to make new ones. Five days filled with fun for the whole family as well as sharing support with other parents for the process of facilitating our kids's educations.
In light of my weekend travel plans, you get a mid-week post!
This week the Diva's challenge to "spill it!" encouraged me to explore the intuitive process of art a little more deeply. No set string, no pre-planned tangles or patterns, just the opportunity to invite chaos and chance into my art practice and respond intuitively to what arrives.
I've been admiring tiles splashed with watercolor lately and so that's what I decided to use for the "spill it" challenge. First I splashed some watercolors and then I spilled some salt.
watercolor drips, splashes, and spills
I used the smooth side of one piece of Canson watercolor paper and one piece of Strathmore Printmaking paper because I didn't want too much surface texture of the paper to interfere with the tangling later on with my Pigma Micron pens.
I used Windsor & Newton watercolors in Transparent Yellow and Quinacridone Magenta because I really enjoy the combination of yellows, pinks, and oranges they make together and being transparent colors I knew they would blend beautifully without getting muddy.
When everything was dry, I cut both papers into ten 4" by 4" tiles.
4in x 4in tiles splashed with watercolor
I chose this tile because the long leggy drip of watercolor across an area of white space immediately brought to mind the tangle Quandu by CZT Eni Oken. That was the start of my intuitive process.
beginning to intuitively tangle the organic shapes created by the watercolor
I continued to follow the drips, splashes, and spills, filling an irregular shape with Aura-leah, another with Printemps and Flux-like weeds. When a lone Poke Leaf showed up in those Fluxy weeds, I knew that more Poke Leaf and some Poke Root would have to find a home somewhere in the tile. More of each tangle here and there, then joined by Footlites and many orbs and auras. I know that I could keep developing this tile with shading and highlights, but for now it just feels finished. I decided to listen to that feeling.
Have you ever had the experience where an art technique seems just out of your reach? I feel that way every time I see a Zentangle renaissance tile where the tangler has artfully mixed black, brown, and red ink with shading and highlights on that mid-toned tan paper. I have made quite a few attempts with frustrating results. I just couldn't seem to achieve the effect I so admired. I was feeling really stumped! Recently I remembered a technique called "copy-cat" that can be used to accelerate the process when you want to learn something new. I was introduced to this technique in the context of learning new languages, but learning accelerators are techniques that can be applied to any kind of learning. So why not apply it to art?
(Follow the links to read more about copy-cat and Evan's project!) First I gathered examples of renaissance tiles that I admired or that had an effect I want to learn how to achieve, and I saved them to a new Zentangle Renaissance Tiles Pinterest board.
Then I started trying to identify what it is that makes these particular tiles so intriguing and engaging. This was the "seeing effective performance" step. I noticed that I really liked white highlights that popped, that I liked the contrast of the red/brown ink against the black, especially when used within the same tangle, and that I liked the tiles where red/brown shading accented red/brown ink. The next step in this using this technique to accelerate learning would be to attempt to duplicate a few of my favorite parts of these tiles until I felt like I was able to recreate the results I so admired. This is a step that I can return to again and again to deepen my understanding. If you want to try this yourself, why not try CZT Adele Bruno's tangle Sand. Her step-out shows an example on a renaissance tile. A perfect way to get started!
Next I gave myself a whole page in my tan sketchbook to create some tangles, make mistakes, and hopefully discover some successes, continuing to try to copy-cat the techniques I observed but applying them to a variety of patterns.
In this practice page, I want to especially call out the El Prado by CZT Maria Tovar because here I am using a version inspired by The Ragged Ray. Copy-cat two ways!
My practice page helped me see what combinations of ink color, chalk pencil, and graphite or colored pencil shading I liked best out of my experiments. So I continued to practice those combinations in this week's challenge tiles. The Diva's Weekly Challenge #281 This week the Diva challenged herself (and us!) to get more familiar with the geometric tangle ING. I filled the triangular spaces of my ING spires in different ways and put a Fleavy-inspired background behind it.
Diva Challenge #281
ING, Fleavy
It's A String Thing Adventure #159 This week's challenge was to use Printemps, Partay, and Palrevo in a double-lined spiral string. I decided to use the aura'd variation of Partay that CZT Margaret Bremner showed when introducing the tangle and to mix it in with the overlapped Printemps. I used the grid-based Palrevo in the spaces created by the double-line of the string. I think it looks a bit like a layer cake!
IAST #159
Printemps, Partay, Palrevo
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I haven't posted in a while. There's been so much tragedy here in the US in the last few weeks, and again in France and Turkey in just the last few days. It weighs on me heavily. I'm going to be mentioning tough subjects in this post. If you're deeply empathetic and easily triggered by reading about tragedy and injustice in the world, you may wish to skip this one and come back next week. Take care of yourself. I'll understand. Enjoy this photo I took at one of my favorite places to go when I need to feel a little peace in my soul.
This week the Diva told us how she accidentally picked up a red pen in the middle of creating a black and white Zentangle tile. She challenged herself to push past her first reaction of "It's ruined!" and to keep going to see what would happen. Allowing herself that freedom of exploration, she ended up creating one of her favorite tiles. From that grew Diva Challenge #272, where we are asked to add some red to the traditional black and white motif, to have fun, and to leave some room for exploration. I started my tile this week by exploring a new to me technique for shading using hatching strokes with my ink pen. I used a very smooth bristol paper for this tile, which really let my pen flow over the paper with a minimum of drag. Delicious!
work in progress
Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
Next I added some graphite shading, which is a whole new experience on such a smooth paper. The first layer of 2H graphite went down so smooth and buttery it felt like cheating! But after that I struggled a bit with my HB layer. I am used to having much more tooth to the paper. There is a learning curve, to be sure.But I followed the Diva's example, and I kept going to see what would happen. Then lastly, it was time to add that pop of red. Wow!
I wanted to keep up this spirit of exploration when I was working on my tile for the It's a String Thing Zensquicentennial Challenge, so I picked up that coal black drawing paper and my white gel pen and headed back into unfamiliar territory. I can see myself making progress with each new pancake!
IZA, Teenos, and Uncorked for It's a String Thing Zensquicentennial Challenge Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
We've all heard people talk about the power of positive thinking and keeping an open mind. When the Diva resisted that first reaction to the accidental addition of red into her black and white tile, she made a conscious choice to keep going and see what would happen. She was thinking like an artist. I like this list from the Amphitheater Art Instructors' Blog about learning to think like an artist: I think the ideas on this list can be applied to so many parts of our lives, not just when we sit down to draw or paint. So the next time you take on a challenge, will you think like an artist?
My heart has been heavy this week after the tragedy in Orlando, Florida. Many people I hold dear identify as LGBTQ including my oldest child, and I stand in solidarity with this community.
love knows no limits
This week, the Diva's Challenge #271 focuses on Beads of Courage, which she tells us is "an arts in medicine program that helps kids with chronic or life threatening illness tell the story of their medical journey." This program is a bright spot of positivity for these kids and thinking about it helped me remember the kindnesses we humans are capable of creating, even in the darkest times. Here's my tile with color using the "hefty hack" and the linework before shading. It seemed fitting to keep with the rainbow theme.
Beads of Courage, a Zentangle Inspired Artwork ink and watercolor
I added the color using watercolor markers from Letraset for the color and did some subtle shading with a set of gray Koi watercolor brush pens.
Beads of Courage Zentangle Inspired Artwork Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
All this week I've been working on a post about drawing and seeing like an artist. All week! I think realistically it may need to be a two-parter or even a series of posts. So, in the meantime I will offer you a little something I've been cooking up on the side for The Diva's Weekly Challenge #269: Ellish.
Spiral-ish
Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
One of my children helped me name this one, combining the tangle name "Ellish" with the spiral effect happening as I arranged them radially. I think this tangle looks wonderful when combined with others, but I also really enjoy it on it's own like this. Lots of room for me to work on visualizing the levels and shading to add depth.
I have big ambitions when it comes to my personal growth as an artist. I've mentioned before, that I have my own definition of artist:
artist /ˈärtist/ noun: anyone who yearns to express thought-idea-emotion in a passionate, intuitive, or even spiritual way
But sometimes there's a chasm between visualizing that thought-idea-emotion and bringing it to life on paper in a way that captures the moment and compels an emotional response in the people who see it.
One thing that bridges that chasm is skill. And the only way to build that bridge is to practice.
I think the first time I truly understood that drawing was a skill that almost anyone can learn, was when I came across the book You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler.
Kistler doesn't just tell you it's possible, he shows you through many examples of student work. Real people who thought they didn't have "the gift" or "the knack" for drawing discovered for themselves that drawing is a discipline (a branch of knowledge or a field of study), not a talent. I try to carve out time for focused practice every day. Some days that means spending time getting to know my materials better. Recently I went through my box of 48 colored pencils and I created swatches of each color to determine how they related to each other. Which could be used together to successfully create shading and highlights? Which could be used together in a gradual progression from light to dark? Where does each fit on the color wheel?
They aren't pretty, and they don't need to be. You can even see where I was practicing some strokes with my Pigma Micron brush pen alongside my color swatches. No one but you needs to see your focused practice unless you want them to. Their only job is to help you make progress in your pursuit of improving your skills. Over time, those improvements will show in your work and in your creative confidence. I feel more confident when I reach for my colored pencils now because I spent time getting to know the colors I have available to me and how they will work together. Challenges and prompts are another way to approach focused practice. The constraints of the challenges themselves already create a focus. There are many places on the web where you can find weekly prompts for whatever kind of artwork you want to develop, from drawing to photography, journaling to Zentangle®. For example, It's a String Thing Challenge #145 prompts us to create a small, square drawing using only the two tangles Skye and Antidots in a diagonally striped composition. These narrow limits invite us to really look more closely at what opportunities are available. How can I create variety when I have only two patterns? How many different ways can I use the composition to my advantage? If everyone has the same constraints, how can I make my tile unique? Lately I've been practicing my shading techniques to take flat, 2D shapes and turn them into dimensional, 3D forms. I've been getting more and more comfortable with the techniques of where to add shading and how to blend the graphite, but there was one technique I'd been avoiding: cast shadows. According to CreativeGlossery.com:
A cast shadow is a type of shadow that is created on a form next to a surface that is turned away from the source of light. When a form blocks the light, it causes a cast shadow to be formed. Every object that blocks light has a cast shadow associated with it.
I saw the intricate pattern for Skye in this weeks challenge and I knew it was time for me to get over my resistance. It was time for me to apply some focused practice . There's no other way to actually improve my skills if I never try it. Here's my line art, before I began shading.
work in progress Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
Next I added more contrast with ink and graphite and added some shading for dimension. Finally I braved the fearsome unknowns of cast shadows!
Don't worry, I managed to emerge the other side unscathed. Are they perfect? Nope. I know just enough about what they should look like to see what I can work on the next time I practice. But I overcame my resistance and I lived to art another day. I reminded myself that it's just a skill, and it's one I am confident I can learn. That's two thumbs up for me.
Spéir Scáth ink, graphite on paper Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
Remember, no one but you needs to see your focused practice unless you want them to. Though I will continue to post mine here for you in hopes that you can get some inspiration for your own growth as artists! Update 5/31/2016: Just a few days after I posted this tile for It's a String Thing #145, the Diva posted Challenge #270 with an emphasis on the new tangle Skye as well! Skye is a new tangle from Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) Margaret Bremner, who is well worth checking out!
This week the Diva's Weekly Challenge is about creating more drama by adding more black than you normally would. I love challenges that push me out of my comfort zone. Those so often become my favorites works!
Nebel with Gems ink, colored pencil on paper Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
This tangle started life as a few practice strokes on a scrap of paper and then miraculously evolved into a piece I really loved creating. This reminds me of some advice I picked up from an interview with painter Robert Burridge:
Always use good materials
because you just never know when
a great piece of art will appear!
He talks about using high quality paper even in his sketchbooks from 5:58 to roughly 7:55 if you want to skip right to it, but the whole interview is pretty interesting if you want to learn more about how a prolific artist generates and keeps track of ideas. He also shares his art-making knowledge very generously, which is how I first encountered his work. The belief in using quality materials as a way of showing respect to your creative journey is also part of the Zentangle® philosophy, which is why the kits and accessories come with archival ink pens and tiles made of such fine paper. I love, love, LOVE art supplies. I want to try everything when it comes to art. (Why, yes I did pin those DIY instructions for making a kiln in my backyard, thank you very much!) When I go into the art supply store, I want two of everything. And when I get a sale catalog from Utrecht in my mailbox, hold me back! But sometimes I find it a challenge to justify spending the money on the good stuff when it comes to my art addiction, despite how passionate I am about learning more about making art and how good I feel when I've spent time doing it. That's the inner critic showing up again. And while I do need to pay attention to my budget, I also need to protect and nurture my creative spark if I want it to keep growing. So take that, inner critic! (insert karate chop here) I'm very glad that even though I was just experimenting on a "scrap" I was still using the best materials I currently have, and I love what I created.
In my last post I talked about gaining creative confidence through the versatile and accessible artform of Zentangle®. Though this is not the only form of art I'm actively producing, I'll probably post a lot about this topic simply because it was so instrumental in getting me back into making art after so long away.
There is a large online community around Zentangle and Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA), with blogs and challenges and even Facebook groups dedicated to the practice. One blog that's been around for several years is I am the diva which is run by a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT®) and home of the ORIGINAL Zentangle Weekly Challenge.
The weekly challenges provide some inspiration and direction while also offering a way to connect with others and share your creations. This week I am the Diva posted Weekly Challenge #276: "DuoTangle - Poke Root vs. Drupe".
drupe example Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
poke root example
Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
The Diva coined the term DuoTangle and in this week's post she explains that by placing the constraint of using only two tangles, it's an opportunity to discover how the two patterns relate to each other or even merge together to create something new.
I'd been exposed to this idea before, but this time I was really ready to receive it. Learning is like that. You can revisit a topic many times throughout your life and learn something new every time. First I practiced the two tangles individually and experimented with creating variety of ways of drawing each pattern. I used a pencil because the smooth, almost effortless glide across the page frees my mind up to focus on shape, line, repetition, and variation.
initial sketchbook tangle practice Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
As I experimented, I began to see ways to integrate the two tangles and played with those ideas until I found something I really liked. I repeated this new interaction until I could draw it smoothly and comfortably, remembering to keep the zen in Zentangle! Next it was time to ink the tile. I'm using a 6" x 6" sketchbook with paper that has a good thickness and tooth to it. This photo shows the line art before shading.
work in progress ink on paper Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
Next comes the shading. I used three different graphite pencils (2H, HB, and 4B) a white vinyl eraser, and a blending stump to get all the nuances of the shading and shadows. You can see the way I wrapped the drupe tangle around the roundness of the poke root, elongated stems, and added more drupe at the base. In the end this DuoTangle reminds me of a clover plant in bloom, so I have named it Cloverly. Here is the finished piece after the all final touches have been added!
Cloverly
ink, graphite on paper
Julie Bazuzi (c)2016
